BOOST Your Child's Brain Skills: Introduce A Second Language

You can give your child a cognitive advantage by introducing a second language. Research reveals that creating "a bilingual brain" actually changes the brain's structure. The brain's density is enhanced, "giving it an advantage in various abilities and skills." Read more at CBSNews. A Dartmouth research team has shown that the brains of bilingual children use more of the neurons "available for language processing" than those of children with monolingual brains. Read the full article at Dartmouth.edu.

The resulting advantages concern more than just language and communication skills. "Research has shown that children who are fluent in two languages also have cognitive advantages in comparison to those who speak only one language. For example, they are better at solving problems that involve focusing on relevant information while ignoring irrelevant information." Read the full article at SpanglishBaby.com.

Expose your child to new languages. You need not be fluent yourself to introduce a second language. Begin with books, songs, cds, DVDs, and follow up with classes.

Parents magazine (May 2009) selected bilingual children's picture book Before You Were Here, Mi Amor as one of the "Best for Babies." Over seventy Spanish words are woven into the English text and defined in the Glossary. Before You Were Here, Mi Amor concerns all the things one familia does to welcome a new child into the world. A podcast of the book may be heard at Cody's Cuentos. Click here for the podcast.